Gov. Chris Christie was living large

Noah K. Murray -The Star LedgerGov. Chris Christie went over budget on his travels when he was U.S. attorney. He now has no comment.

This week’s Jersey scandal is a small one, if you measure the loss to taxpayers, just over $2,000. But the hypocrisy is delicious.

Gov. Chris Christie, who skewers anyone who breaks the rules and wastes taxpayer money, did exactly that when he was U.S. attorney.

The governor, it turns out, has a weakness for the fanciest hotels. And you can’t scratch that itch if you play by federal rules that place a $233 cap on a nightly stay.

So he tried to squeeze through a loophole that allows you to break that limit if you can show there are no less-expensive hotels available. That’s the exception that Christie claimed.

But his secretary confessed to Justice Department investigators that this was not literally true. In fact, it was nowhere near true. She was counting only “decent” hotels near the site of Christie’s meetings.

Who knew that this would land him at the Four Seasons in Washington at $475 per night? Or at the Nine Zero Hotel in downtown Boston for $449 per night? And once you’re on this roll, why not spend another $236 for car service? Taxis can be so drab.

Investigators found that our governor was a repeat offender. Of all the federal prosecutors, he had the highest portion of his travel bills exceed the cap without justification.

No, this isn’t a lot of money. But the governor rails against public employees who take smaller perks — like a free EZPass, or a sports ticket, or a lobster dinner.
So it’s no wonder he is not commenting on this one. What could he do, blame it on the teachers union?